Since we now have an area to put our Model and Kit Building/Bashing, I had this idea today and want to share something with the forum members here.

My main focus in the wonderful world of miniature trains is building structures.I thought it would be nice to do a project that everyone on the forum can have a go at no matter there structure building experience and have something for their layout.

So to start Iím going to build a simple Garage with a Lean to on the side. The Garage will be made of timber siding and I will show how to distress, stain and then paint it for a weathered look. The lean to will be of tar paper with timber boards holding it on. I will show how to make nice tar paper out of paper from an art store. The roof will also be tar paper and I will make doors from stip wood. I will also share a few little scratch built details.

I hope this will get some of the plastic kit guys out here to join in on something that is actually easy and often a lot cheaper then the kits. Plesase let me know if your following along so it will motivate me to finish this.

One thing i cant stress enough is USE A FRESH BLADE WHEN CUTTING. They dont cost much and make a lot of difference to your cuts. Get a new one out at the start of each project and place it if the tip breaks. I have an old Film canister full of old blades and one of fresh blades on my bench and its something i pick up every time i go to the local hobby shop.

So to get started:I drew up a plan on paper but i will draw up a CAD plan to attach later on in the week that can be used as a template.I cut out the walls of the main garage from the card stock after i transfered the drawing to them.I also cut the 4 walls from the scribed siding.

Both from card and Timber.I normally start with thicker timeber and not worry about the card but because i could only get 1/32 thick i use card to strengthen it.I will also use some internal bracing later on as i suspect the timeber will bend out of shape when paint and stains are used.

Make sure you use a fresh blade and a metal rule when cutting the sides.

Next step is to cut the door out of the front. I will provide some measurements when i do a CAD drawing later on.Keep the door as we will us it and frame it up later on.

The next thing i do is de stress the timer and add grain to the planks. It adds age and detail to it.I Use a small wire brush to scrub the timber lightly to add the grain. You can just see it in the photos but it is more noticable once it is painted and stained. It takes time to do this but i have built On30 structures that were board by board with a 5inch by 6 inch footprint and it is worth the effort.

Rob, The little lean to shed and roof of the main one is done with paper.I go to an art store and buy an A4 sheet of black carson paper that is thin. I used other colours as well.

Pretty simple technique really. Get a set of cheap acrylic paints. Grab a grey out and some black and do a very watered down was of the hole sheet but make sure you only brush one direction as you will notice with tar paper it weathers from water being washed over it.I use a cheap chalk set that has earth tones for more weathering. Just another thing from the art shop for $5 crape a bit of the stick with a blade to create a powder and then use a soft brush to add some weathering.Cut the sheet into strips and just glue it onto some card or wood. the boards are just scale timber (dont recall what size).

Have a go at it. Even if you have a brick building on your layout a little lean to in tar paper adds character and is cheap.